Safety match and folder



March 4, 1958 MYERS I 2,825,448

SAFETY MATCH AND FOLDER Filed April 5, 1956 A'rruRNEYs United StatesPatent SAFETY MATCH AND FOLDER Roy H. Myers, Ojai, Calif.

Application April 3, 1956, Serial No. 575,725

1 Claim. (Cl. 206-49) This invention relates to match books of safetymatches wherein matches are secured in a folding strip of material witha strip of abrasive material on the outer surface for striking matcheswithdrawn from the book, and in particular a cover formed of acontinuous strip of material with a plurality of layers of matchesextended from strips in which the igniting material forming heads of thematches is positioned on the ends of the strips secured in the folder orbook with the stems of the matches extended to facilitate grippingmatches as they are withdrawn from the folder.

The purpose of this invention is to eliminate the necessity of tearingstems of matches from match books wherein in numerous instances thestems are damaged to such an extent that it is substantially impossibleto grip the match for striking.

With conventional match books or folders the heads of the matches areformed independently and the stems are secured by staples between afolded edge of a match book and the back thereof making it necessary totear through a stem as a match is removed from the book. By this meansit is difiicult to grip a stem and in numerous instances the stems arebent or damaged as they are torn from the folder. With this thought inmind this invention contemplates a match book in which the position ofmatches therein is reversed so that the stems may readily be grippedbetween the thumb and forefinger of a hand and with the stem firmly heldthe match is readily removed from the folder and also readily ignited,by scratching the head over an abrasive substance on the outer surfaceof the book.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for forminga match book whereby heads of the matches, instead of the stems arebound in the book.

Another object of the invention is to provide a safety match folder inwhich heads of matches are secured under a flap on the outer surface ofwhich an abrasive strip is provided.

Another important object of the invention is to provide an improvedmatch book in which heads of the matches instead of the stems aresecured below a flap having an abrasive thereon and in which an extendedend of the book is adapted to be positioned below the flap having theabrasive thereon as a match is scratched for lighting whereby remainingmatches of the book are protected from the fire resulting from ignitiona match.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved match bookwhereby stems of matches are extended to facilitate gripping in whichthe book is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the inventionembodies a continuous strip of material, layers of material perforatedand scored longitudinally to provide match stems, igniting materialpositioned on ends of the stems adjacent the perforations, a flap havingan abrasive strip on the outer surface folded to cover the perforationsand ends of the strips beyond the perforaice tions and a staple forretaining the flap and layers of material scored to prow'de match stemsin position upon the strip of material, said strip of material beingprovided with score lines whereby an extended end is adapted to foldbelow the flap through which the staple extends.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the improved match book showing the book withthe parts in closed positions.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the improved match book.

Figure 3 is a plan view showing a blank strip of material with scorelines therein to facilitate folding and showing the position of layersof material for forming matches in broken lines thereon.

Figure 4 is a plan view showing a layer of material formed to providefinished matches.

Figure 5 is a perspective view showing a layer of material for formingmatches with the parts shown on an enlarged scale, and showing a blankbefore the igniting mate: rial forming the match heads is appliedthereto.

Referring now to the drawing wherein like reference characters denotecorresponding parts the improved match book of this invention includes astrip of material 10 having a score line 11 positioned to provide a flap12, a score line 13 positioned to provide a hinged end 14 and a scoreline 15 positioned to provide a cover 16. The section between the scorelines 11 and 13 provides a back 17 and layers of material 18 and 19 arepositioned on the back and secured between the fiap 12 and back 17 witha staple 20. The staple 20 extends through backing strips 21 and 22 ofthe layers 18 and 19, as shown in Fig. 2 and the backing strips areseparated from stems 23 formed by parallel score lines or slots 24 withperforations 25.

The layers of material forming the matches are stamped, as shown in Fig.5, with the perforations 25 at the ends of the score lines 24 wherebyrelatively narrow sections 26 are provided between the perforations andwith the perforations comparatively close a stern may readily be brokenfrom the layer of material by gripping the stem with the thumb andforefinger of a hand with the match book held in the other.

The ends of the stems 23 adjacent the perforations, are covered with amaterial adapted to be ignited by scratching forming heads 27 and withthe layers of material positioned as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 the heads ofthe matches are secured below the fiap 12 and with the parts in theclosed position the end of the flap 16 is also extended below the outeredge of the flap 12.

A strip of abrasive material 28 is provided on the outer surface of theflap 12.

With the parts provided as disclosed and described the flap 16 is openedto expose the stems of the matches and with a stem gripped in one handas the match book is held by the other the small section between theperforations is readily broken making it possible to remove a match andafter the match is removed from the folder the end of the flap 16 isinserted below the flap 12 and the match is scratched upon the abrasivestrip 28. By this means the remaining heads of the matches are coveredto prevent the heads being exposed to the fire of the burning match.

It will be understood that modifications, within the scope of theappended claim, may be made in the design and arrangement of the partswithout departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In a match book, the combination which comprises a strip of materialhaving a portion forming a back with a ring spaced scio r e lines spacedinwardly from the opposite end providing a hinged cover, a strip ofabrasive material positioned on the outer surface of the flap, layers fe at s e -hsv e e i fins wi ra pn hb s 2 21;? ed n the fiack with -theperfoyat ions pusition ed etvsgeen am i a krv i lat as e im e sia h ms clinesiextendedl fr om the perforations i providing" stems, and-saidstems haying igniting heads thereon; the heads else being positionedbetween the flap andbac}: and positio'ned e lpseiy, adjacent theperforations, and "a staple extehded thfougff fh e nap and? back i'ziiid*jals6"t'hfbiigh se fthelayq s, f m te ial q tiqnssii qtw sns hs Vperforationsiand ends thereqf; the strip being of a length a to extendover the: stems a nd-yvith' its free end tucked beneath the flap. r V

Refefences Cited the file of this pat ent UNITED symss {PATENTS

